Billion-Dollar Brain
Encyclopedia
Billion-Dollar Brain is a Cold War spy novel by Len Deighton
, and the fourth protagonised by an anonymous secret agent working for the British WOOC(P) intelligence agency
. It follows The IPCRESS File
(1962), Horse Under Water
(1963), and Funeral in Berlin
(1964). As in most of the author's novels, the plot of Billion-Dollar Brain is intricate, with many dead ends.
Midwinter is using The Brain to organise his own intelligence agency and private army which will soon start an uprising in Soviet-occupied Latvia in an attempt to end Communism in the Eastern bloc and tip the balance of the Cold War in favour of the West. After discovering this, and also the fact that the package he delivered contained a deadly virus, the protagonist must stop the virus from falling into the hands of both the Soviets and the madman billionaire - and prevent a nuclear war between the superpowers in the process.
Len Deighton
Leonard Cyril Deighton is a British military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel The IPCRESS File, which was made into a film starring Michael Caine....
, and the fourth protagonised by an anonymous secret agent working for the British WOOC(P) intelligence agency
Intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to information gathering for purposes of national security and defence. Means of information gathering may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public...
. It follows The IPCRESS File
The Ipcress File
The IPCRESS File was the first spy novel by Len Deighton, published in 1962.It was made into a film in 1965 produced by Harry Saltzman and directed by Sidney J. Furie, starring Michael Caine as the protagonist....
(1962), Horse Under Water
Horse Under Water
Horse Under Water is the second of Len Deighton's spy novels featuring an anonymous British agent protagonist . It was followed by Funeral in Berlin.- Background :...
(1963), and Funeral in Berlin
Funeral in Berlin
Funeral in Berlin is a spy novel by Len Deighton.- Plot :The protagonist, who is unnamed, travels to Berlin to arrange the defection of a Soviet scientist named Semitsa, this being brokered by Johnny Vulkan of the Berlin intelligence community...
(1964). As in most of the author's novels, the plot of Billion-Dollar Brain is intricate, with many dead ends.
Plot
The unnamed protagonist travels to Helsinki to deliver a package after receiving instructions from a mysterious mechanically operated telephone message. On his arrival the protagonist discovers that the message was from 'The Brain', a one billion dollar super-computer owned by eccentric Texan billionaire General Midwinter.Midwinter is using The Brain to organise his own intelligence agency and private army which will soon start an uprising in Soviet-occupied Latvia in an attempt to end Communism in the Eastern bloc and tip the balance of the Cold War in favour of the West. After discovering this, and also the fact that the package he delivered contained a deadly virus, the protagonist must stop the virus from falling into the hands of both the Soviets and the madman billionaire - and prevent a nuclear war between the superpowers in the process.